Apparatus for decorating glassware and other articles



May 30, 1939. F. c. FLINT 2,160,725

APPARATUS FOR DECORATING GLASSWARE AND OTHER ARTICLES Filed June 14, 1938 awe/whom Patented May 30, 1939 I UNITED STATES PATENT "o -rice I APPARATUS FOR DECORATING GLASSWARE AND' OTHER. ARTICLES I Francis 0. Flint, Zanesvilie, Ohio, assignor to Hazel-Atlas Glass Company, Wheeling; W. Va., a corporation of West Virginia Application June 14, 1938, Serial No. 213,685

' ,4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to the art of printing, but more particularly it relates to they The present invention isconcemed particularly with the last-mentioned type of decorating glassware. That is, a ceramic paint is employed in decorating the glassware, and the ware is subsequently fired. Methods heretofore suggested have not been successful, for the reason that theblanket of the transfer cylinder 'does not 20 pick up sufiicient ceramic paint from the plate 1 The result is that the color'is thin,

cylinders. streaked and lifeless. The ,present invention overcomes this very serious difficulty.

I The inventon will be clearly understoodfrom 25 the following description, when taken in connec-' tion with the accompanying drawing, in which, The figure is a vertical transverse sectional view of the transfer cylinder; the associated conveyor and plate cylinders being illustrated 80 more or less diagrammatically.

In the drawing, the transfer cylinder or drum is referred to by numeral It. A conveyor H for presenting the bottles I! or other containers to the transfer cylinder, is diagrammatically illus- 86 trated. The present invention is not concerned.

with any particular apparatus for transporting the ware to be decorated or for maintaining the ware in proper relation with the transfer cylinder while the ware is being decorated, etc., and 40 hence it is unnecessary to illustrate any particular apparatus for theseordinary purposes, for which purposes any desirable apparatus may be employed.

Arranged around the transfer roll are a num- 45 her of cylinders l3 carrying the plates M. The present invention is particularly adapted for 'multi-color work, and of course there may be any desired number of the plate cylinders; three being shown in the present instance. Of course 60 the usual inking rollers l are associated with the plate cylinders. These inking rollers contact only with the plates l4, and the plates l4 contact only with the blanket of the transfer cylinder, to be later described. No driving ap- 55 paratus is shown in connection with the plate same manner as the blanket.

of the silk screen are attached to rods or shafts cylinders. and the transfer cylinder, as obviously any desired mechanism may be employed. The arrangement of the transfer cylinder and the associated plate cylinders is old and well known, as shown by the patent to A. J. Ford, l5 No. 1,092,830, granted April 14, 1914. t

In an apparatus as thus far described, the

blanket of the transfer cylinder receives a design .impression from each of the plates l4, and the transfer blanket then appliesthe complete designv to the article to be decorated. As mentioned hereinbefore, when ceramic paints are employed, the transfer blanket does'not pick up a sufficient amount of such paint from the plates,

with the result that the finished design is thin, I

streaked and lifeless.

A'transfer blanket, which has long; been known, and which is unsatisfactory for use with ceramic paints for the reasons mentioned above, is referred to by numeral l6. In'the particular form illustrated herein the blanket is stretched over a.-portionof1the metal drum ill in exactly the same manner as shown inthe above-mentioned patent to A. J. Ford, but of course theblanke't can be mounted on the drum in any desired manner. 1 And as mentioned in said patent, the blanket is usually-made of rubber. a

The yieldingsurface ofthe blanket made of rubber or other substances such as gelatin, is adapted to receive the ink or paint impressions from the plates I 4. But inthe use of ceramic paints the blanket does not pick up sufficient paint from the plates, to satisfactorily carry out the process of decorating glass or other surfaces.

over the blanket Hi. Of course this silk screen 40 may be mounted on the blanket in any desired manner, but I have shown it mounted in the That is, the ends carried by the transfer drum ill, just as the ends of the blanket are attached to similar rods 0r shafts. These rods are preferably rotatably ad:- justable, as shown in the above-mentioned Ford patent. Of course the present. invention is not concerned with any particular manner of mounting either the blanket or the silk screen.

' It will be understood that the silk screen will assist in taking the ceramic paint from the plates 54, and the result is that the transfer blanket carries suflicient paintfrom the plates to the article to be decorated, thereby overcoming the difnculties previously encountered in attempting to decorate glass surfaces with ceramic paints.

The use of a silk screen in combination with a' transfer blanket, to aid in picking up more paint from the plates, is believed to be entirely new,

and while I prefer to use a silk screen, yet the invention contemplates the use of other porous materials for this purpose.

Having fully described the invention, what I claim is:

1. An apparatus for printing on glass surfaces with ceramic paint, including a plate cylinder,

a transfer cylinder, a transfer blanket carried by the transfer-cylinder, said transfer blanket including means for increasing the amount, of ceramic paint picked up by the blanket from'the plate cylinder and transferred to the glass surface.

2. An a pparatus for printing on glass surfaces with ceramic paint, including a plate cylinder, a transfer cylinder, a transfer blanket carried by the transfer cylinder, and a sheet of porous material on the surface of said blanket for increassurfaces with ceramic paint, including a transfer blanket of resilient material, and a silk screen stretched across said blanket, said screen increasing the amount of ceramic paint which is delivered to the glass surface.

FRANCIS C. FLINT. 20 

